Ayumu Hirano and Taku Hiraoka earned Japan’s first medals at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Feb. 11 by taking silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s snowboard halfpipe. The 15-year-old Hirano led after the first round with a score of 90.75 and surpassed that with a second-round jump of 93.50 that pushed the 18-year-old Hiraoka into third place with a score of 92.25. Switzerland’s Iouri Podladtchikov took the gold with a tremendous second run worth 94.75 points. Two-time Olympic champion Shaun White of the United States crashed on his first run and his second run was only good enough to earn fourth place on 90.25. The medals were Japan’s first in Olympic snowboarding, and Hirano became Japan’s youngest Winter Olympic medalist. Sara Takanashi, the 17-year-old overwhelming favorite for the gold medal in the women’s normal hill ski jumping, finished fourth and left without a medal on the same day.